2016 WWF-Canada Annual Report

President’s message

All freshwater ecosystems and the wildlife that depend on them in good condition.

Healthy marine ecosystems on all three coasts.

A vibrant and ecologically sound future for the Arctic.

Resilient communities across the country that enhance nature.

How do we help nature, wildlife and people thrive together in an enduring way? That’s the challenge the staff and board of WWF-Canada are tackling as we implement our bold five-year plan.

The answer? Identify current, emerging and looming threats in Canada, and drive the relevant professional, political and community forces to implement evidence-based solutions — then expand them.

Our work benefits the amazing living things in Canada, including polar bears, salmon, caribou, whales, cod, tiny freshwater species, and the people who depend on them.

It enhances iconic places across the country, including Arctic areas where wildlife and people converge; the Bay of Fundy, with the highest tides in the world; the least-touched wilds of the West Coast; the Grand Banks off Newfoundland; and the lakes, rivers and tributaries that are the lifeblood of the country.

Thank you for your support. Your commitment will help us build on our successes this past year and achieve even greater conservation impact. Because we are all wildlife.

David Miller,President and CEOWWF-Canada

This year’s conservation achievements

At WWF-Canada, we know that healthy ecosystems and prosperous economies go hand in hand. That’s why we’re working to ensure Canada’s wild spaces teem with biodiversity, while truly sustainable industries provide livelihoods for generations to come.

Breakthrough for Arctic wildlife after more than 40 years

For 40 years, Inuit leaders have been trying to persuade governments and corporations to protect the Lancaster Sound region of the Arctic.

Lancaster Sound is one of the richest marine ecosystems in any of Canada’s three oceans. Almost one-fifth of the Canadian beluga whale population migrates through there each year, and 70,000 narwhals — three-quarters of the global population — return to their favourite spots in this area. The region also boasts millions of seabirds and one of the highest densities of polar bears in Canada. It anchors the southern part of the Last Ice Area, the only Arctic area expected to retain its summer sea ice to 2050. As climate change melts ice throughout the northern hemisphere in the next three decades, the Last Ice Area will become crucial for ice-dependent wildlife and important for communities that depend on that habitat.

But you wouldn’t know any of this from the decades of dithering and delays in protecting Lancaster Sound. In 1971, the Canadian government gave Shell Canada Limited 30 permits to explore for oil and gas within the area proposed for protection by local organizations such as the Qikiqtani Inuit Association. The government was supposed to revoke the permits in 1979 after they went unused, but never followed through. Despite repeated efforts to remove the permits in the nearly 40 years since, the threat of fossil-fuel development remained over the region and blocked efforts to turn the area into a National Marine Conservation Area — an aquatic national park.

Polar bears, Nunavut

It was clear to WWF-Canada that without a new approach, we risked going another 40 years without action. So, with support from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and more than 5,000 individuals who donated and backed the
push to protect Lancaster Sound, WWF-Canada collaborated with Ecojustice, a group of legal experts specializing in protecting nature, to launch a lawsuit against Shell and the government of Canada in April of 2016. The
lawsuit targeted the expired permits and raised awareness about the need for a larger conservation area around Lancaster Sound. It got the attention of Shell and the government, and gave them a deadline to act.

Just a few months after the launch of the lawsuit, Shell finally agreed to relinquish the permits. The climax was an extraordinary scene at WWF-Canada’s Ocean Summit in Ottawa, held on June 8, World Oceans Day. To kick off
the summit, WWF-Canada president and CEO David Miller hosted Shell Canada’s president, who announced the oil company had given up exploration rights in the region, which freed-up 8,600 square kilometres for protection.
Catherine McKenna, Canada’s minister of the environment; Dominic LeBlanc, minister of fisheries and oceans; and Carolyn Bennett, minister of indigenous and northern affairs, were among those present who celebrated. The
ministers praised the result and pledged to declare the Lancaster Sound NMCA quickly. WWF-Canada expects an official declaration within months, which will protect an area about twice the size of Nova Scotia and more than
double the ocean space protected by Canada. This will help Canada meet its national and international commitments to boost protection from one per cent of the country’s ocean territory now to five per cent by 2017 and to
10 per cent by 2020.

Sustainability milestone for Newfoundland cod

The unsustainable harvesting of seafood to meet global demand is one of the biggest threats to healthy ocean ecosystems.

For one of Canada’s iconic fish species, Newfoundland cod, that demand provoked an ecological and economic disaster. Starting in the late 1980s, cod stocks around Newfoundland
plummeted as a result of historical overfishing and changing environmental conditions. In July 1992, the federal government declared a moratorium on fishing northern cod, throwing an estimated 30,000 people out of work.
Many devastated communities feared that cod had been pushed to the brink of extinction as stocks continued to decline even after fishing was shut down.

Almost 25 years later, independent assessments confirm that some Newfoundland cod stocks are rebounding. To ensure that the cod fishery would be rebuilt sustainably, WWF-Canada, in partnership with Icewater Seafoods Inc.,
started a Fishery Improvement Project (FIP) in 2010 for a southern Newfoundland cod fishery, known as 3Ps. The purpose of a FIP is to improve a fishery so that it can enter the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification
process. MSC certification is recognized internationally as a highly credible standard for sustainable fishing.

Colourful houses along the cliffside, Newfoundland

The FIP brought together communities, industry, fish harvesters and government, and it was successful in demonstrating that it is possible for struggling fisheries to recover so that both nature and communities reap long-term
benefits. And in March 2016, southern Newfoundland 3Ps cod became the first Canadian Atlantic cod fishery to achieve MSC certification as sustainable and well managed. The fishery currently provides MSC-certified cod to
markets in Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The FIP received financial support from the Sustainable Fisheries Fund program of the Resources Legacy Fund and the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture in Newfoundland and Labrador. Many
other groups came together to support our work on southern 3Ps cod, including Ocean Choice International, the Fish, Food and Allied Workers, the Marine Institute of Memorial University of Newfoundland,
Fisheries and Oceans Canada, High Liner Foods Inc., WWF-UK, and WWF-US.

Many individuals also donated to make a real difference by making possible WWF-Canada’s work building sustainable fisheries for community prosperity.

Troubling trends revealed in national watershed assessments

For the first time in 2016, according to the RBC Canadian Water Attitude Study, Canadians ranked climate change as the biggest threat to our freshwater

For this reason, and others, it has never been more urgent to have an understanding of the current condition of our freshwater ecosystems.

The water we drink and swim and play in, and use to grow our food, power our homes and support our industries is at risk. While Canada is a nation of thousands of rivers and lakes, we know very little about the health of our
waters and the threats they face. Without knowledge, protecting this important natural resource is proving to be very difficult.

There are organizations working to collect data through local water-monitoring initiatives, but there’s little consistency in how the information is being collected and interpreted. There lacks a national framework for collecting
and analyzing water data. Without information about the health of our freshwater ecosystems, we are unable to make smart water-management decisions.

Without a picture of the conditions of Canada’s waters, we are not aware of other issues that might be impacting them. By painting this broader national picture, we can more clearly see whether Canada’s overall water condition
is improving or declining, whether the threats are growing or subsiding or whether there are other issues jeopardizing the health of water resources that provide invaluable wealth across the country.

To address the issue of water data, WWF-Canada developed a framework to assess freshwater health and threats. We are using it to develop the first national report of all 25 major
watersheds across Canada by 2017. The methodologies were developed in consultation with a number of Canada’s leading freshwater scientists from academia, government and the not-for-profit sectors.

Spiny softshell turtle hatchling, Thames River, Ontario

In 2016, WWF-Canada reached the milestone of assessing 19 of the country’s 25 major watersheds. We have worked with hundreds of organizations and government agencies to acquire data necessary for conducting these assessments.
The assessments relied on support from HSBC-Canada; Canada Steamship Lines; Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation; Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation; John and Pat McCutcheon Charitable Foundation;
Norman and Margaret Jewison Charitable Foundation; Geoffrey H. Wood Foundation; Takla Foundation and AGF Management Limited. Through their funding, WWF-Canada is able to undertake this immense task of assessing our country’s water health for the first time in one report.

With 75 per cent of the watersheds now assessed, a troubling national trend is being revealed. We’ve found that there’s a pronounced lack of available and accessible data on the health of the watersheds. In the 19 major watersheds assessed to date, we did not have enough data to confidently assign an overall health score for 10 of them. We simply do not have enough information to make sound decisions to protect our water.

This trend is worrisome as the overall threat scores for watersheds assessed to date is high in six watersheds and very high in four.

WWF-Canada is working to increase monitoring in the watersheds where the need is greatest. Through the 2015-2016 Loblaw Water Fund, supported by Loblaw Companies Ltd., 16 grant recipients (totalling $350,000) worked on projects that relate to the health and threats indicators included in our Watershed Reports. This includes activities that improve any of the four health indicators such as water quality and water flow, or reduce one of seven threats, such as pollution, habitat loss and climate change. Together with community water stewards across the country, organizations and WWF-Canada supporters, we will continue with our goal to see all of Canada’s waters in good condition by 2025.

Students from Crescent School in Toronto learn how to monitor for benthics with Loblaw Water Fund grantee EcoSpark

Canadians help tiger populations grow for first time in history

In 2010, the global wild tiger population hit an all-time low. The population had plummeted by 97 per cent, from 100,000 wild tigers 100 years ago to only 3,200 in 2010.

Poaching remains the primary threat, with every part of the tiger – from its whiskers to its tail – traded in illegal wildlife markets.

On top of that, more than 90 per cent of the tiger’s historical range has been lost or degraded as a result of human activity – mainly the clearing of forests for agriculture and timber, as well as infrastructure development.

As top predators in the food chain, tigers help keep their habitats balanced by preying on other animals – mostly herbivores. Too many herbivores would lead to overgrazing and degrade the ecosystem.

To protect just one tiger, we have to conserve around 10,000 acres of forest. These forests sustain not only tigers but countless other species and people.

Tigers also help stimulate the local economy through responsibly managed tourism, and tiger conservation projects provide sustainable livelihoods for local communities.

Alarmed by the drastic decline in 2010, WWF and the governments in the 13 countries with tiger populations committed to a goal – known as Tx2 – to double the wild tiger population by 2022, the next Chinese year of the tiger.

To reach this goal, WWF-Canada is working with partners on wild tiger conservation projects in Nepal. Our efforts include population monitoring, anti-poaching operations, tiger-habitat improvement projects, awareness-raising campaigns and training for local communities as citizen scientists.

Bengal tiger, Bandhavgarh National Park, India

And this year, we received hopeful news that all our hard work has finally started to pay off. In April 2016, it was announced that for the first time in a century, the global wild tiger population has increased.

Globally, the wild tiger population has reached almost 3,900. In Nepal, we’ve managed to stop the rapid decline of tigers over the past six years. The population has risen from 121 to 198 wild tigers – an increase of more than 60 per cent.

This success is the result of years of work to designate key habitats and corridors as protected areas, increased security from the Nepalese army, new habitat management activities within the protected areas, and engaging locals in conservation practices.

While the rise of global tiger numbers demonstrates positive momentum and proves that we can make a difference, our work is not yet done. This year marks the halfway point of the Tx2 timeline, but we are only one-fifth of the way toward doubling tiger numbers by 2022.

Thanks to the 3,515 supporters who donated to this past spring’s tiger campaign, and to Patricia and Alan Koval, dedicated conservation supporters who generously matched the first $75,000 raised, we can continue working towards that goal.

People & Community

If you love it, you safeguard it. That’s why WWF-Canada aims to inspire 3.5 million Canadians—one in ten people from coast to coast to coast — to forge a deeper connection with nature.

More than 400,000 people deepen connection to nature

The challenges facing nature are urgent and real. If current trends continue, only one third of the world’s species populations that existed in 1970 will remain by 2020.

That’s two-thirds of life on this planet, gone in 50 years. While the degradation of far-off wild places may feel removed from our day-to-day lives, the major issues affecting
the environment today — climate change, pollution and destruction of habitat — are also being felt in our local communities, backyards, parks, rivers and streams.

Animals and insects that were once plentiful in our neighbourhoods are getting harder to find. Seven of 18 species of bats in Canada are listed as at-risk, and pollinators such as bees and butterflies – species that play a key
role in producing the food that sustains us – are in decline.

To ensure nature thrives, Canadians need a deeper understanding of how our actions affect the wildlife and places we value, and make caring for nature a part of our daily lives.

Students from École de l’Assomption, a Go Wild grantee in Fabre, Quebec, plant shrubs

That’s why by 2020 WWF-Canada aims to engage 3.5 million Canadians – one in 10 people in the country – in ways that deepen their connection to the natural world. Since 2015, nearly 450,000 people have joined WWF-Canada’s nature-connected movement of
individuals, students, teachers, businesses, scientists, volunteers and communities taking meaningful action for our environment.

Through programs such as Go Wild, Loblaw Water Fund, Living Planet @ Work, Schools for a Living Planet and Ottawa Wave Makers, 70 community and school projects empowered Canadians from coast to coast to coast to help wildlife flourish
in their communities, lakes, rivers and oceans with support from Loblaw Companies Ltd., TELUS, RSA Canada, HP Canada, OLG and Impact HUB Ottawa.

Members of the community build bat boxes with Go Wild grantee Wahnapitae First Nation

In Annapolis, N.S., for instance, youth monitored aquatic species at risk while students in Fabre, Que., planted shrubs to stabilize a riverbank habitat. Local conservation efforts tracked people’s recreational activities to learn
where humans overlap with known grizzly habitat in Lillooet, B.C., created native prairie pollinator gardens in Regina, and built nesting boxes for endangered bat populations in Capreol, Ont. By establishing 156 water quality
monitoring stations across the country, citizen scientists are promoting freshwater health for wildlife such as turtles, beavers, salmon, frogs and waterfowl. And in our nation’s capital, innovative projects are connecting
people to our oceans through efforts such as a digital sustainable seafood guide, testing for microbeads and more.

Volunteers at the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup in Toronto

As part of the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup, a joint initiative with Vancouver Aquarium, 59,136 volunteers removed 175,932 kilograms of waste along 3,211 kilometres of shoreline – roughly the
distance between Vancouver and Thunder Bay, Ont. Shoreline Cleanups as far north as Iqaluit made communities look better and made life better for species such as seals, belugas, narwhals and walrus, all of which risk eating
or getting tangled in litter.

Climbers at the 2016 CN Tower Climb for Nature in Toronto

When Canadians weren’t setting new records for length of shoreline cleaned, they were getting active in other ways for nature. Corporate teams tackled the River Quest Canoe Challenge and plunged into Lake Ontario in February for
the Polar Dip. And nearly 7,000 people registered for the 2016 CN Tower Climb for Nature, taking a combined 12,432,000 steps up Canada’s tallest landmark to raise more than $1.2 million for WWF-Canada’s conservation
efforts.

By exploring their wild side, Canadians are proving they Count for Nature.

Our Donors & Supporters

WWF-Canada’s work is made possible through the generous contributions of individual donors, corporate partners, foundations and organizations. We are deeply grateful for your trust, commitment and recognize your role in our achievements this past year. Thank you for your gift to nature and for believing in our mission to build a future in which people and nature thrive

The following recognizes those who have contributed more than $1,000 in support—through financial donations, sponsorship, donated media, advertising, and other gifts-in-kind—between July 1, 2015, and June 30, 2016. We are deeply grateful for your trust and commitment.

NOTE

A plus sign (+) following a name recognizes in-kind donations or donated media.

Endowment funds

Endowment funds provide support for WWF’s mission in perpetuity. They are unique gifts, made from lasting commitment and deep trust.

Above $1,000,000

200 Canadians Trust

“1001” Nature Trust

Beryl Ivey Fund

Brocklehurst-Jourard Education Fund

Canadian Conservation Trust

$500,000 – $999,999

The Sobey Fund for Oceans

$100,000 – $499,999

The Kenneth M. Molson Fund for Endangered Birds

Signatures Fund

$50,000 – $99,999

Anne Marie Peterson Legacy Fund at the Calgary Foundation

$25,000 – $49,999

Sharlene Jessup Fund for a Living Planet

Ensuring a future for nature

With gratitude, we are pleased to recognize those who have included a future gift for WWF-Canada in their Will or estate plan, joining more than 1,500 other committed members of WWF’s Legacy Circle.

WWF-Canada’s Legacy Circle

Carole Ahmad

Christa Arnold

Leanne Ball

Anne Barstow

Lynda Beveridge

Jacquie Bird

Janice Brookes

Wendy Brooks

Pat Bruce

Anna Byrne

Christina Calvert

Ashley Chabot

R. D. Coates

Don Collison

Dale Colton

Maybelle Conley

Sandy Cook

Carli Costall

Deborah Courneyea

Mavis Degirolamo

Lisa Denesiuk

Dr. Veronica Devall

M. Jane Dick

Diane Doucet

Astrid Douglas

Robert Falconer and Corinne Falconer

Catherine Fox

Louise Gagne

Nancy Gagne

Shawna Gibson

Joan Gray

Anthony Griffin

Carol A. Harany

Amelia Hayden

Susan Higgins

Mandy Hoogendoorn

Eva Howe

Tamiko Hughes

Sandy Jans

Mindy Jenkins

Alex Keller

Elizabeth Kennedy

Joanne Kuly

Normand Legault

Dr. W. Paul Loofs

Janet Lummiss

Elinor Mansbridge

Patricia Marks

Phil Marsh and Cindy Petrowski

Lawrence Martin

Peter McColl

David McInnis

Mrs. Sheila I. McLaughlin

Catherine Meunier

John Moses

Kerrie Palmer

Rita Patel

Kathy Paul

Laurie J. Pederson

J. A. Pelter

Iris Penman

Wendy Percic

Andrea K. Phoenix

John Pliniussen

Barb Reich-Sander

Audrey Loeb Ross and David P. Ross

Anna Saroli

Renata Schamle

Cindy Schiller

Lola Schneider

Jack Schnell

Linda Shimek

Erika Somogyi

Virginia Steel

John Thompson

Sherry Turner

Michael Ustick

Gord Venables

Carol Watson

Pamela Williams

Karen Williamson

Frances Wood

Len Worley

Sylvia Yarmuch

Passion at work

From holding bake sales to dress-down days, companies found fun and creative ways to support WWF’s goals last year. We are honoured to recognize those whose employee-giving efforts raised $1,000 or more this year.

Corporate and employee fundraising

Accenture

Bentall Kennedy (Canada) LP

Blue Ant Media

BMO Financial Group

BNP Paribas Banque Canada

BOMA Toronto

Brookfield Global Integrated Solutions

Bullfrog Power Inc.

Carillion Canada

CIBC Cam

Coca Cola Refreshments of Canada

The CSL Group Inc - Groups Csl Inc

Daggerwing

Exhibition Place

HP Enterprise

HP Inc

HSBC Bank Canada

Independent Electricity Systems Operator (IESO)

Lindt & Sprüngli Canada. Inc

LinkedIn

Lynx Equity Limited

Maple Leaf Foods

Marsh and McLennan Companies

Mosaic Solutions

Northam Realty Advisors Limited

OLG Casino Point Edward

Pandalytics

Porter Novelli Canada

Portfolio Aid Inc.

PwC Canada (Head Office)

Riddle Room

Robert Bosch Inc

Sears Canada

Sun Life Financial

TELUS Corporation

The Printing House Ltd.

Top Drawer Creative

Watters Environmental Group Inc.

WSP Canada Inc.

WWF-Canada – Head Office

The 50+ club

Many, many thanks to our elite group of volunteers who each contributed more than 50 hours of their time over the past year. You’re a very special part of the WWF team.

A dagger (†) following a name recognizes volunteers who have contributed more than 100 hours of their time this past year.

Volunteers

Sharon Beauregard †

Stephanie Butera

Dilan Cetinkaya

Kayi Chan

Amanda Donatelli

Sylvia Douglas

Sue Grant †

Aditi Gupta

Tina Hui

Daniel Joseph

Katarzyna Kata †

John Mackie †

Helen Moustakas †

Ty Nanayakkara

Jaqueline Parker

Caleigh Perrett †

Romina Ponzielli †

Michael She †

Shrija Shrestha

Andrea Walker

Dana Warnquist †

In honour and celebration

We are pleased to recognize individuals who helped raise and inspire contributions of $1,000 or more to WWF’s conservation efforts this past year.

In memory

In Memory of Allan Arnold

In Memory of Gordon Cassidy

In Memory of Rose Chikofsky

In Memory of Dorothy Silvia King-Brown

In Memory of Peg McRuer

In Memory of Alec Parry

In Memory of Ben Sakamoto

In honour

In Honour of Hendrika Jacobs

CN Tower climbers

Dina Al-Sabawi

Steve Arnold

Robert Autagavaia

Julian Backhouse

Chris Benedetti

Jeannine Beveridge

Stephen Biro

Lloyd A. Bryant

Dr. Monika Caemmerer

Amy Castator

Philip Cha

Sonia Chedli

Katherine Cheng

Jonathan Cheszes

Heather Crochetiere

Caroline De Barra

Chantelle Debartolo

Ari Dimitraklas

Iain Doran-Des Brisay

Doug Dorsey

Vincent Dubuis

Lindsay Eaves

Victoria Elliott

Valya Fox

Lee Fraser

John Garofano

Amy Giansante

Erin Gordon

Wanda (Chow Mein) Hall

Ian Hayhurst

Sheila Holloway

Edyta Indycka

Geoff Kidder

Rob Lauer

Patti Lawrence

Marivel Ledesma

Sandy Livingstone

Jessica Lockhart

Ashley Manis

Danelle Martin

Jonathan Martonyi

Shauna-Leigh McCreedy

Anne McMahon

Anthony Merante

Alexander Metcalfe

Alex Miller

Brian Minns

A Morin

Jacob Munter

Richard Munter

Rachel Nicholas

Stephanie Norrie

K O’Connor

S O’Connor

John O’Neill

Joseph Park

Paul Pellegrini

Evelyn and Gary Perdue

Carly Pilon

Emily Pong

Maria Pueda

Kalistra Roopchan

Janet Russell

Rodney Salo

Crystal Samuel

Marty Scarlett

Werner and Inge Schmalz

Lindsay Seligman

Christian Sforza

Michael Lawrence Smith

James Snider

Reese Sommerman

Henry Song

Chris Stephens

Janice Takata-Shewchuk

Christine Teskey

Kurt Teskey

Mark Teskey

Drew Tremblay

Ernestine Underhill

Nina Varlamova

Paula Webb

Jennifer Williams

Sarah Wolch

Denise Wong

Diane Wong

Community Panda fundraisers

Adam Beck Junior Public School

K. Austin

Samantha Cava

Ezzy Lynn

Garneau Elementary School

Humberside Montessori School

In Honour of Caroline Nickerson

In Memory of Graeme Loader

Jack Donohue Public School

Kids’ Run for Nature

Meyonohk School

Mountain Coffee Ltd.

New Roots Herbal Inc.

Pasadena Elementary School

Arabella Quattrocchi

St. Stephen Catholic School

Carol Anne Ste-Marie & Marta Grímsdóttir

Stuart Knight Productions Inc.

The Dalton School

Thornhill Woods Public School

Trillium School

University of Calgary – WWF Club

With Every Dollar

Our 2016 financial results

Fiscal 2016 was the first year of our five-year plan. We increased our investment in conservation and public awareness expenditures by 9 per cent, reflecting new programs to support our strategic goals for a total of $16.7 million invested in direct conservation programs, grants, research and public awareness.

Key areas of focus include expansion of our efforts in the Arctic, work today expanding marine protected areas, freshwater health and threats assessments, mapping of renewable energy opportunities and expansion of various community-based
programs such as Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup.

We are also consciously investing the funds on projects that donors have specifically targeted in our conservation program areas, resulting in a reduction of our restricted fund balances.

Fundraising efforts for fiscal 2016 produced great results from our CN Tower Climb for Nature and other community programs, and weaker results in our legacy and major-gifts areas. This is connected to the transition to our new
strategic plan and we expect to see renewed fundraising revenues in the coming year now that the plan is entrenched.

As a result of lower revenues, our fundraising ratio increased from 22.5 to 25.4 cents per dollar raised for fiscal 2016. We’re confident this ratio will decline next year as our revenues recover to historical levels.

Our teams, resources and funds are in a strong position to continue making a significant difference to conservation in Canada and internationally. As always, we remain committed to fiscal responsibility and accountability, ensuring
that your support is prudently spent to build healthy ecosystems, strong local economies and community well-being.